All about The Ordinary's Niacinamide 10% with Zinc 1%

I recently became more serious with skincare as I had neglected or cared on and off about the state of my skin. As a frugal person that I naturally am. I decided to go on a hunt for affordable (in my own terms) skincare products. I stumbled across the ordinary on makeupalley and decided I could "try" it especially with the low price tag. Needless to say, I went on a spree and spent less than $100 on at least 6 products. Caveat: This line almost exclusively stock products in 1 fl oz. bottles. I think that is fair enough in my opinion considering that price per ounce is significantly cheaper than most name brand skin care lines. Another thing with The Ordinary is that it is a part of a bigger conglomerate: deciem,and they mostly package an ingredient per bottle. That is, there are no mixes like say AHA, BHA, or hyalorunic acid in one product. They strictly for the most part provide single-ingredient products. Ocassionally, you see products mixed with hyalorunic acid which is a staple for most moisturizing products anyways. Did I also mention their clean yet simple packaging? I adore the fact it comes with a bottle with a dropper system, that assures me of minimal contamination and aeration. Products get packaged with clear bottles except where light penetration is an issue and labels are simple and clean.Enough of the back story, today it is going to be all about NIACINAMIDE.

It is a form of Vit B3 (niacin) and the rest of the info is an excerpt from the website, which from my research is largely true. "Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) is indicated to reduce the appearance of skin blemishes and congestion. A high 10% concentration of this vitamin is supported in the formula by zinc salt of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid to balance visible aspects of sebum activity. " Note that instructions on the website should be followed as closely as possible to prevent any untoward reaction. In niacinamide's case, it is advised to not be used in the same regimen as Vit. C. Reason? Culled from Paula's Choice website ( another good source of skincare information1) "Niacinamide is a pretty “tough” ingredient; light and air don’t have the same effect on it as they do on antioxidants like vitamin C. What’s important for niacinamide is that the product be formulated at a pH that’s close to neutral. Vitamin C (pure ascorbic acid), on the other hand, does best in a low-pH (acidic) environment. However, nicotinic acid—the undesirable by-product of niacinamide and vitamin C—becomes an issue only when the niacinamide and vitamin C are combined in a high-temperature environment for a long time. That temperature is higher than you’d find in most at-home scenarios, including leaving a box of skincare products sitting outside in the sun for a couple of days."

As always, do your own research before embarking on your skin care journey.

PERSONAL BENEFITS.

I have definitely noticed improvement with oiliness, seeing as it is getting warmer, this has been a lifesaver. Additionally, my face has become brighter with less hyper pigmentation. I have an array of other products which will be discussed on other blogposts. I I hope you have enjoyed this, be sure to subscribe and leave a comment.